WE WERE told that the European Union would grind to a halt, that warfare would break out and that genocide would again stalk the Continent if we did not support the European constitution.

But in a startling admission, José Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission, has said that he can see no way to bring the constitution back to life after its rejection by French and Dutch voters, and he has admitted that the EU is working well without it.

His comments, made to a Polish newspaper, are the most pessimistic yet by an EU leader on the prospects for the constitution. Officially, all 25 Union governments still support the constitution and agreed only to “pause for reflection” while they decided how to overturn the two “no” votes and push ahead with ratification.

However, Senhor Barroso’s comments suggest that the pause for reflection will simply be a prelude to burying the document. He acknowledged in Rzeczpospolita: “In the foreseeable future we will not have a constitution. That’s obvious. I haven’t come across any magic formulas that would bring it back to life.”

During the referendum campaigns for the constitution, its supporters, including the British Government, insisted that it was essential to enable the EU to operate after enlargement to 25 countries.

Jan Peter Balkenende, the Dutch Prime Minister, used Second World War commemorations to warn his voters what would happen if they rejected the constitution. Margot Wallstrom, the Vice-President of the European Commission, used a Holocaust memorial to suggest where lack of a constitution might lead. Members of the European Parliament produced television promotions for the constitution using footage of Jews being herded on to trains, the massacre in Srebrenica and the terrorist attack in Madrid.

In his interview, however, Senhor Barroso acknowledged that Europe was working without the constitution and noted that no significant Commission decisions had been blocked since enlargement to 25 countries in May last year.

Senhor Barroso said: “Instead of never-ending debates about institutions, let’s work with what we’ve got. Political will and leadership are more important than institutions.”

So far 13 of the 25 EU members have ratified the constitution, and the leaders of many countries, including France and Luxembourg, have called on all others to continue. Union leaders have agreed to meet in Brussels in spring to discuss how to revive it.

Wolfgang Schüssel, the Austrian Chancellor, recently suggested that the French and Dutch should be made to vote again in 2007. Yesterday, however, Françoise le Bail, Senhor Barroso’s spokeswoman, said that the Commission President was “describing what is a fact”. She said: “With two negative votes in the referendum, it is difficult to see how the constitution can be put into operation.”

Times Recommends

• Both sides blame US for worsening relations
• Stieg Larsson: losing the plot over his cash
• Odd creature paralysed by incompatible parts